Opening Doors provides 20 units of work which includes poetry and prose from our literary heritage. Each unit of work has exciting stimulus material with creative suggestions for ways in which the material can be used for outstanding learning possibilities. Visuals and innovative ideas to help pupils' access the meaning and wonder of the text which will add to the appeal. Pupils are encouraged, throughout the units of work, to engage with language, invent questions and write with flair and accuracy, bringing literature from the past alive for them and opening doors to further reading and exploration. Also included is an introduction to the concepts used in the book and suggestions about a range of methods and pathways which can lead to language development and literary appreciation. Although the units are all different and have a range of poetry and prose for teachers to use, each unit will have some common sections to give a coherent and ambitious approach. Opening Doors both informs and excites, it gives fresh resources and suggests new ways of going on the journey to outstanding literacy achievement. For 7-11 year olds.

Together with Leah Crawford, Angela Jenkins and Julie Sargent, Bob Cox has compiled this rich resource, complete with vivid illustrations by Victoria Cox, to help teachers enhance their learners' engagement with challenging texts and develop their writing skills as budding wordsmiths.Working in association with the Opening Doors network of schools, the authors address the vital concept of pitching high but including all pupils and how this approach can be delivered in practice. Opening Doors to Ambitious Primary Englishexplains and models top quality ways of thinking, planning and teaching. Theresources, case studies andauthors' innovative ideas on theorywill help you to make primary English vibrant, creative and challenging in your school. It alsoprovides frameworks and principlesfor any school wishing to be more ambitious in developing pupils' speaking, listening, reading, writing and thinking witha greater sense of curiosity and more originality. Opening Doors to Ambitious Primary Englishcontains chapter by chapter explanations of how English in primary schools can be developed in ambitious ways. Supported by research references, examples of pupils' work and illuminating case studies, the book provides teachers with a toolkit of strategies which schools can adapt and apply to their own contexts. The book is supported by the Opening Doors series of books which contain units of work based around selected texts. The authors hope this book will act as a starting block from which to develop an Opening Doors approach to English, and havesuggested key concepts around which the curriculum can be built, with the units providing examples to work from. Suitable for teachers and curriculum leads in primary settings.

In the course of his educational consultancy work, Bob has seen many teachers successfully use the scope and depth which literature can offer to inspire high standards, mastery learning and, above all, a love of language in its many forms. Schools using the 'opening doors' strategies told Bob they led to: More teacher empowerment and confidence. More knowledge building for pupils and teachers. A growing confidence with literature, including poetry. Planning from the top becoming a norm. Planning for mastery learning becoming a norm. Improved comprehension skills. Improved quality writing and associated excitement. They also asked Bob for further examples of inspiring, quality texts, and more ways in which all abilities can access them. Bob was only too happy to oblige. These 15 units of work cover poetry and prose: each unit provides exciting stimulus material, creative ideas for writing projects, and differentiation and support strategies, meaning all pupils can achieve the quality writing objectives. All the units should help teachers facilitate understanding of the challenging texts and maximise the huge potential for quality writing. Discover a multitude of ready-to-use ideas, inspired by classic literature and great writers' works, along with plenty of new strategies and advice. All of the extracts and illustrations you will need to begin opening doors in your classroom are downloadable a link to the download web page is provided in the book. Units include: (Click on the links below to view a collection of written work produced by school children aged 10 to 13 who are following the passages and exercises related to the texts included in this book) Part 1: Opening doors to prose 1. Night Encounter - The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins 2. Spooky Scientists! - The Phantom Coach by Amelia B. Edwards 3. The Strongest Looking Brute in Alaska - That Spot by Jack London 4. Mr Knickerbocker's Notes - Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving 5. The Portrait of Doom - Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy 6. The Hell Hound - The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 7. Sinister Spaces - Metamorphosis and The Castle by Franz Kafka 9. All in This House is Mossing Over - From 'Mementos' by Charlotte Bronte 10. Dancing the Skies - 'High Flight' by John Gillespie Magee, Jr 11. The Mystery of the Lonely Merman - 'The Forsaken Merman' by Matthew Arnold 12. Making Magic Talk - 'The Magnifying Glass' by Walter de la Mare 13. The Spirit in the Garden - 'A Garden at Night' by James Reeves 14. A Shropshire Lad - 'Blue Remembered Hills' by A. E. Housman 15. The Silver Heel - 'I Started Early - Took My Dog' by Emily Dickinson The Opening Doors to Quality Writing series won the 2017 Education Resources Awards in the Educational Book Award category. Judges' Comments: "Described as two gems which provide innovative approaches to exploring quality texts as stimuli for children's writing. Judges described The Opening Doors to Quality Writing series as an invaluable resource, particularly for non-specialist teachers. Excellent literary choices contained within very attractively produced books." Opening Doors To Quality Writing: Ideas For Writing Inspired By Great Writers For Ages 6 To 9

Inspiring and supporting you to become an insightful, creative and professional teacher of primary English. Teaching children English is an opportunity to give them skills that will enrich their entire lives and is a crucial part of their intellectual development. Covering all major aspects of primary English and following the foundations set in the early years, this book takes you through your teacher training and into your early career in the classroom. Each topic explores what we know from theory and the latest research, and then demonstrates how you can use this understanding in practice. Drawing on the authors’ own knowledge and experiences in the classroom, the book is full of practical advice and strategies to support your own teaching, while also helping you develop your subject knowledge. Key topics include: · Reading and writing in the early years · Curriculum design and planning · Promotive reading for pleasure and teachers as readers · Teaching writing and its role as a form of communication · Vocabulary development and word knowledge · Assessment for formative and summative purposes · Oracy and spoken language development

Teaching English by the Book is about putting great books, wonderful poems and rich texts at the heart of English teaching, transforming children’s attitudes to reading and writing and having a positive impact on learning. It offers a practical approach to teaching a text-based curriculum, full of strategies and ideas that are immediately useable in the classroom. Written by James Clements, teacher, researcher, writer, and creator of shakespeareandmore.com, Teaching English by the Book provides effective ideas for enthusing children about literature, poetry and picturebooks. It offers techniques and activities to teach grammar, punctuation and spelling, provides support and guidance on planning lessons and units for meaningful learning, and shows how to bring texts to life through drama and the use of multimedia and film texts. Teaching English by the Book is for all teachers who aspire to use great books to introduce children to ideas beyond their own experience, encounter concepts that have never occurred to them before, to hear and read beautiful language, and experience what it’s like to lose themselves in a story, developing a genuine love of English that will stay with them forever.